The borough is making progress on its long and expensive to-do list. The decisions are not easy and several are costly. Many have been around a long time. That’s not because anyone did anything wrong. Rather, it takes time to confront hard decisions to resolve long-standing problems. And, in many cases, it takes time to find money to pay for the solutions.
But the decisions are necessary and deserve the community’s support.
After wrangling over multiple options, the Wrangell assembly has put up for sale the former hospital building. The borough has been spending close to $100,000 a year to heat and insure the structure since SEARHC moved out of the facility — much of which dates back to 1967 construction — and finished moving into the new Wrangell Medical Center in February 2021.
Borough officials considered whether the community might reuse the property for something else. Maybe it could be rebuilt as a new Public Safety Building or as temporary quarters while the rot-damaged Public Safety Building is repaired. After looking at the multimillion-dollar costs of those options, and the continuing upkeep expenses, they wisely decided the best use of the empty hospital building would be under a new owner.
Bids close June 30. The minimum is $830,000.
Also on the decision list is a new $15 million water treatment plant for the community. The existing facility is inefficient, and has suffered for years from a high buildup of sediment, hampering water quality and flow and driving up costs.
By making the project a priority and assembling sufficient funds — a pending state grant, subject to the governor’s review this month, plus a couple of large federal checks — the borough has now committed to design work and hopes to go to bid in January.
The assembly last week voted to approve the borough’s purchase of the 39-acre former sawmill property at 6 Mile. Though future uses for the waterfront property are uncertain, the assembly and borough officials are clear in their intent that private parties develop the site, not the borough. Buying the property intact will allow the borough to market the commercial property, with the goal of adding to Wrangell’s economic future.
The borough assembly next week will vote on a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 which could include spending almost $1 million on long-needed repairs and new siding for the pool and recreation center building. The structure is in sad need of a new face on such a well-used community asset.
Solving the Public Safety Building is still on the work list. Water and rot damage will be costly to repair, rebuild or replace, but the building — and its local, state and federal tenants — are essential to the community. Wrangell has no choice but to find the money to do the work.
Thank you to borough officials for checking off items on the list. The community will be better for it.
-- Wrangell Sentinel
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